Submarine rescuing device



Sept. 1, 1931. s. KELLEY SUBMARINE RESCUING DEVICE Filed March 13, 1929 Patented Sept. I, 19 31 ISAIAH s. KEiLEi OF NEW vonmn." Y."

SUBMARINE BEsouIncr; DEVICE Application filed March 13, 1929. Serial to. 846,558.

The device, the subject of this invention, is i ntenoed as a means for-rescuing submarines, or for indicating the position or a submarine A when submerged, and while I am fully aware '5 that releasable buoys have been proposedfor submarines, it is my intention that this device will be more than a mere indicating buoy. V Another object of the invention is to pro- 10 vide means that may operate with the'mechanisms within the submarine, for making it possible for the submarine to rescue itself under certain conditions.

Another object of the invention, is to proo vide means to which lifting means may be attached, and to so arrange these last mentioned means that they will. be within the.

submarineand will not project therefrom,

as I fully appreciate that projections from the deck or the skin of the" submarine are objectionable. I p I Another object of my invention is to pro'-' vide an indicatin buoy in such a position that it will not taue up desirableispace, and in sucha way that it may be discharged forcibly from the interior of the subi'narine,

and will not depend entirely upon its own;

buoyancy for itsability to leave the sub .mari-ne, as buoyant devices may, from the '30 fouling of a line, or other untoward condi" tions be reventedf-rom functionin With all of these objects in view, the following is what I consider the best means of carrying out the invention, and the accom- "pany1ng drawings should be referred to for.

a complete understanding of the specifica tion which follows;

Inthe drawings Fig. lshows a submarine submerged. Fig. 2 showsnmydevice in a submarine; Thisview is partly in section.

F 3' is a sectional view of the buoy, and

Fig. 4-, a sectional View on asomewhat en" larszed scale of a valve.

Similar reference numerals indicate like parts in all the figures Where they appear. In Fig. 1 at 1, I show a submarine. This submarine is provided with a plurality of Y ports, such as are shown at 2 and 3, and it will 59 be noted that these ports may be low down on the side" of thesubmarine; I prefer that they should be located at What would n rmallybe termedthe tween decks portion. At 4;, in 1, Ishow a buoy, floatedtothe sur- I face of the water, and out of the port 3.

hinged at 6, and secured by a locking means whichconsists of an angularly bent pipe 7, and a latch 8. The'latch is free to operate in a hingeS), which is a ball and socket. The 111- ner 'en'd ofthe latch is retain-ed by a hook 11, controlled by a turn b'uckle,jor pressure device 12. At the inner side of'the lever 8, is a closure 8", for the passage through the angular memberf. The hinge 6 maybe a spring hinge, if desirechbutthis is not in my opinion; necessary.

To open the closure 5, the turn buckle 12 is released, allowing; the lever 8 to move away from the member 7, and thereuponwater may, enter through the member 7. Air will be discharged through the lever 8 and 10, andas the air is discharged and the water enters, equalizing' the pressure, the closure 5, may open.

Within the" closure 5, is a chamber 13,in which I arrangea plurality of ways 14 and 15; each supporting a" plurality of rollers, as

shown at 16 and 17. Between the rollers, I

placethe buoys, the details of which will be laterdescribed,

Behind the buoy, I arrange a plurality of I plungers 18 and 19, each'operated by a spring" as shown at 20 and 21, andmeans such as screwthreaded shafts 22 and 23 areprovided for tensioning the springs 20 and 21.

Within the buoy 4,- I provide a buoyancy chamber l,-separat'ed froma second chamber" 24:. W'ithin this secondchamber, I arrange a' reel 25ior'the reception of the airfpipe 26, the air pipe entending from the chamber, and being secured ata'convenient point, such as that'shown at 27, and continuesthrough the back wall of the chamber'let, tobe connected with an air'pump 28. The air pipe 29, connected' through the shaft of ther'eel 25, continues through the chamber l to a mushroom head, which is provided with a cap 30, and

Wave baffles 31. Brackets 32 supporting the cap 30 from the baliles, admit air to the pipe 29.

Within the chamber 24, I also arrange a line reel 33, to which a hand line is attached. The inner end of this line is secured to a chain 34:, coiled within the chambers 13. The small chain 34: may be attached to a larger chain 35, which is also coiled within the chamber 14. This large chain 35 is secured to an eye 36, which eye is in turn, firmly and reliably secured to a part of the submarine which Wlll withstand all necessary or desirable strains.

At 37 I show a drain pipe which may be employed to drain water of condensation fro-m the chamber 14%.

In the operation of my device, when the turn buckle 12 is released, the hook 11 may be rotated from the lever 10, and as this lever is really a part of the lever 8, this lever 8, will move away from the end of the hook member 7, so that water may enter the large chamber 14, and at the same time, the closure 5 is released. The closure 5 would open, except for the outside pressure of the water, but as the pressure becomes equalized, the springs 20 and 21 force the buoy f out 'of the chamber 14-, and when released, the buoy will move upward to the surface, unreeling at the same time, the pipe 26, and the line 33. By means of the pump 28, which should be local to my device, air may be drawn into the submarine, and if the pumping machinery of the submarine is in workable condition, a sufficient amount of' air may be brought in to the submarine to increase the interior pressure of the submarine, to an extent possibly suliicient to float the submarine. If this is not possible, sufficient air may be brought in to increase the pressure so that bulkheads will i not cave, due to the water pressure, and even if this is not possible, at least sufficient air can be brought into the submarine for prolonging life. I believe, however, after a study of most of the submarine accidents, that in some instances, the submarine could re-fioat itself, if air could be obtained, and that in most instances, the caving of the bulkheads could be prcvented, and in all instances life could beprolonged.

Vhen the buoy has reached the surface, it serves as a marker; that is, a location for the submarine, and thereafter drawing up on the hand line, will raise the small chain 34, which ma serve as a uide in lowerin a liftin pontoon which can be secured to the larger liftin chains 35, for the purpose of ultimately raising the pontoon.

The tube may be employed for introducing not only .air, but food. Under no normal circumstances, will the heavy lifting chain 35 be withdrawn from the submarine, as it is my purpose to provide suliicient hand line invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination with a submarine, of a chamber, a water-tight and hinged cover, therefor, means for retaining said cover closed, a hollow hook member for allowing water to pass into said chamber and an air escape from said chamber to equalize the pressure exterior thereto, said hook and said air escape means serving as a locking means for said closure.

2. The combination with a submarine, of a chamber, a water-tight cover therefor, a hollow hooked shaped means for retaining said cover closed, means for allowing Water to pass into said chamber and air to escape therefrom to equalize the pressure exterior thereto, said equalizing means comprising a hollow bar-normally engaged with said hook shaped means and serving, as a locking means for'said closure.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a chamber, a closure therefor, closing means securing said closure closed, a buoy in said chamber, an anti-frictional device for supporting said buoy, ejecting means for said buoy comprising springs and plungers arranged between the springs and the buoy, and means for compressing said springs, and a hand line and a chain connected together and to said buoy.

4. A device of the character described, comprising a. chamber, a closure therefor, a closing means securing said closure closed, a buoy in said chamber, an anti-frictional device for supporting said buoy, ejecting means for said buoy comprising springs and plungers, arranged between the springs and the buoy, and means for compressing said springs, and a hand line and a chain connected together and to said buoy, a heavier chain permanently connected to a suitable means within said submarine, said heavier chain being adapted to receive a lifting pontoon, said heavier chain being connected to said hand line so that the hand line ma guide the lifting pontoon into position.

ISAIAH S. KELLEY. 

